Commercial Structures and the Globalisation of Viticulture in Catalonia: From Brandy to Wine and Cava (Eighteenth–Twentieth Centuries)

Abstract

This paper analyses the evolution of viticulture in Catalonia since the
eighteenth century, when the industry entered the international market, with massive exports of brandy to northern Europe and the Spanish colonial market. In the nineteenth century, Catalan viticultural produce was exported mainly to Latin America in exchange for the importation of cotton. After the phylloxera crisis, viticulture experienced difficulty in internationalisation until the specialisation in cava, a sparkling wine made in the same way as champagne, kept the wine production going. In the twenty-first century, the
specialisation in quality wines is also related to the export to international markets.